What is a Tech Stack and Why Should Business Owners Care
A Tech Stack plays a significant role in the success of your custom software development project.
A technology stack (Tech Stack) is a set of tools used by developers to build software applications. It is the combination of technologies such as programming languages, frameworks, databases, and other tools a company needs to build and run software application projects.
Business owners with non-technical backgrounds find it difficult to choose which technology stack to use that fits best for their software product.
Having the right tech stack for your software development is beneficial to your business in many ways. Here are some of its benefits:
Developers write code better and faster.
It creates a better software structure for better performance.
It makes your software application easier to maintain.
It is easier to fix common bugs and performance issues for a well-documented stack.
Do you want to know more about the importance of Tech Stack for your custom software development project?
This article talks about:
The Basic Components of a Tech Stack
A tech stack is made up of software and tools used from the development to the deployment of an application. Each application is built in layers and each layer is built atop of each other that creates a stack. There are two basic components of a tech stack, these are as follows:
Front-end (Client-side) Technology. These are technologies used to build the interface of a software application that users interact with. The three main front-end technologies are:
HTML. A markup language used to structure a web page and its content.
CSS. A style sheet language used to add style to the content of the HTML elements such as font, colors, layouts, and many more.
JavaScript. A scripting language used for creating responsive and interactive elements for web pages.
Here are some of the popular front-end frameworks and tools:
AngularJS. A dynamic client-side programming language that facilitates faster and easier data binding without requiring any intervention from developers.
React. An open-source JavaScript library used to build user interfaces for single-page applications.
Bootstrap. An open-source framework that supports JavaScript extensions to create responsive and mobile-first websites.
jQuery. A lightweight JavaScript library with an easy-to-use API that works on multiple browsers. It makes selecting and manipulating HTML elements easier.
Back-end (Server-side) Technology. These are technologies that are made up of servers, databases, and applications to create a skeletal foundation of an application or software.
Back-end (Server-side) tech stack:
Keeps the operations running smoothly.
Provides structure for organizing and communicating with databases.
The back-end (Server-side) tech stack is made up of the following components:
Programming languages. These create the business logic of an application. Some examples are PHP, Java, Ruby, and Python.
Servers. Used to manage client requests. Some examples are Apache, Nginx, and Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS).
Databases. These are digital storage spaces used to store data. Some examples are MongoDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
Frameworks. These provide support to applications based on a single programming language. Some examples are Laravel, Django, and Ruby on Rail.
The Different Tech Stack Models
You can use a tech stack model of your choice when developing your business software to save development time and cost. Here are the different tech stack models to consider:
LAMP. A tech stack made up of open-source software components that is used to build high-performance web applications.
A LAMP stack is made up of four components, these are as follows:
Linux. A free and open-source operating system.
Apache. A web server that processes requests.
MySQL. An open-source database for storing application data.
PHP. An open-source scripting language for building highly functional, dynamic, and interactive web applications.
MEAN. A full-stack and open-source JavaScript framework used for building complex, reliable, and dynamic web applications. MEAN is an acronym for MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and Node.js.
The MEAN stack is made up of four components. These are as follows:
MongoDB. A schemaless NoSQL database system that saves data in binary JSON format to easily pass data between client and server.
ExpressJS. A lightweight web application framework for Node.js that enables you to build a back-end (server) application that connects the front-end and databases.
AngularJS. A JavaScript framework for dynamic web applications that handles the behavior of different elements that users interact with.
NodeJS. A server-side JavaScript execution environment that helps you build fast, scalable, and concurrent applications.
MERN. An open-source full-stack development framework for creating web applications. MERN is the acronym for MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, and NodeJS.
The MERN stack is made up of four components namely MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, and NodeJS.
- ReactJS. An open-source JavaScript Library used for building user interfaces on single-page applications.
MEVN. An open-source JavaScript software stack that has emerged as a new way of building powerful and dynamic web applications.
The MEVN stack is made up of four components namely MongoDB, ExpressJS, VueJS, and NodeJS.
- VueJS. An open-source client-side framework for building single-page web applications.
Ruby on Rails (RoR). One of the most popular open-source web application frameworks that helps you build simple to complex applications. Its main components are ActionPack, ActiveSupport, ActiveModel, ActiveRecord, ActiveResource, and ActionMailer.
Ruby on Rails uses the model-view-controller (MVC) pattern to arrange and plan the application development.
How to Choose the Right Tech Stack for your Software Development Project?
Choosing the right technology stack is essential for the success of your software development project.
The performance, competitiveness, and viability of your software application depend on the technology stack that you choose.
Here are some factors to consider when choosing the right tech stack:
Scalability. Developing a reliable, competitive, and complex application often requires a combination of several languages and a well-defined scalability matrix that works on all possible situations:
Vertical Scalability. The ability of a software stack to scale easily when you need to add more features on top of the core functionality of the application.
Horizontal Scalability. The ability of a software stack to handle a sudden increase in the volume of users and transactions on the application.
Tech Talent Skills and Expertise. It is important to consider the skills and expertise of your development team when choosing a technology stack for your software development project.
The availability of proficient developers whose expertise fits best with the type of programming languages in your chosen stack is essential for the success of your software development project.
Cost. Cost varies from one tech stack to another. The technology stack of your choice directly affects the software development cost. Here are some of the factors that affect cost:
Cost of hiring a developer or developers salaries
Maintenance costs
Technical training and licensing cost
An open-source tech stack can be a good option to consider if you want to minimize your software development cost because it does not require licensing fees and can be updated and changed easily.
Security. In building your software application, you have to always keep in mind the best practices for security and threat mitigation.
Security is one of the important factors to consider when choosing the best technology stack for your software development project. You can opt to choose a tech stack that offers better security features based on your software security requirements.
Support and Maintenance. In choosing a technology stack for your software development project, you have to consider the following:
Software maintenance and upgrade can be performed easily with less cost.
The chosen tech stack should allow you to manage, scale, and reuse your code efficiently as needed.
Allows changes and updates to your projects without any restrictions.
Support can be accessed easily once your application encounters problems and needs troubleshooting.
Are you still looking for the right tech stack for your custom software project? We can help.